Panama: USD5 31,1 M bet between January and November 2020

If compared with October and November 2019, when sportsbooks exceeded US$ 355 million, in the two months of crisis there was a reduction of US$211 million.

Before the pandemics, bets on games of chance totaled US$ 331.1 million, a number tgat does not include sales of chance and tickets of the National Lottery of Charity. In total, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic reports that between last January and November $ 531 million were wagered, which represents a decrease of 72% compared to the 2019 data.

In total, $ 2,116 million were wagered in 2019, a drop of 4.2%, figures similar to those reported in 2018.
Since 2015, betting on games of chance has gone downhill, after a 5.5% tax was created, intended to finance the salary increase of retirees.

With this tax, which must be paid by players, regardless of whether they won or lost, a collection of $ 53 million a year is generated.

As a result of this fall, more than 6 thousand people who worked in this sector lost their jobs due to the cut implemented in the number of enabled betting tables.

During the closure decreed this year by the health authorities, players opted for betting on sporting events that took place outside the country. In addition, the bets at the Presidente Remón Racetrack were developed online.

Between last April and November, more than $ 17 million in bets related to sporting events were received.

According to the Comptroller, after the payment of prizes resulting from the bets, the gambling operators reported gross income of $ 104.7 million between January and November, a reduction of 70% compared to the numbers of the previous year.